FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Permit Parking District Policy OKd

A policy to establish a method for residents to petition for the creation of a permit parking district has been approved by the City Council.

To resident Tom Kelly, it was news he had been waiting for. He plans to immediately petition neighbors to establish the city’s first permit parking district.

“I’ll talk to neighbors to see how they feel about it,” said Kelly, a 12-year resident of the Sequoia Woods tract off Slater Avenue between Ward and Brookhurst streets. “I think most of them will go along with it.”

In recent years, the city has received requests from residents, including Kelly, who want permanent parking restrictions to keep non-residents from parking in front of their homes.

The non-resident parkers often cause disturbances and leave few parking spots for residents and their guests, residents said.

Because of the number of requests, the city decided to establish a policy.

“I think it’s a very positive step because we’ve had a lot of trouble over the years,” Kelly said.

Residents have complained for years about nearby apartment tenants parking for long periods of time in front of their homes and also leaving behind trash in the street.

“There is a need for permit parking in this area. These people from the apartments don’t care about the area,” Kelly said.

At least 75% of the residents in a proposed parking district must be in favor of the plan for it to go before council.

Once a district is established, the policy allows four parking permits per resident and one permanent guest permit, which is valid for an indefinite period.

A parking district could include from one block to several blocks of homes.

Kelly’s tree-lined tract only has 17 homes, and he said residents are concerned about the cost of establishing a parking permit district.

It costs $2,000 to set up a district, city officials said.

The charge to individual residents would vary according to the number of residences involved.

Some, however, including Mayor Laurann Cook, don’t think the city should charge to set up a district--at least on a trial basis.

“I still think we should keep the cost minimal or at no cost,” Cook said.

Under the policy, fees will be determined when the request reaches council.

The council could decide to waive fees or require residents to reimburse the city.

For residents such as Kelly, the possible fee waiver is “encouraging” news.

City officials do not expect many neighborhoods to ask for permit parking.